


oh, how lucky we are

by aestrales



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, M/M, alex mercer gives the best hugs, that's it that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:02:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29240280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aestrales/pseuds/aestrales
Summary: five times alex gave the best hugs and one time he got one in return.title from There's Nothing In The World Like Love by Labi Siffre
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina, Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 153





	oh, how lucky we are

**1.**

It’s not the first or the last time that Reggie shows up on Alex’s doorstep with red, puffy eyes.

They sit on the floor of Alex’s bedroom, and this is a _them_ activity because Bobby and Luke are too energetic and they talk incessantly and usually that’s an essential part of their friendship, but in moments like this Reggie needs space and he needs quiet.

Alex flicks through a battered textbook, scanning through each page with the eraser end of a pencil. Reggie just stares at the wall.

“Wanna talk about it yet?” Alex asks, keeping his voice measured and soft, trying not to disturb the quiet that’s settled in his bedroom. Reggie murmurs noncommittally.

“There’s nothing to talk about. It’s the same as it always is, they’ve been fighting about the exact same things since their wedding day.”

“Do you want a hug?” Alex asks, raising one eyebrow at Reggie as he laughs through choked tears and nods.

Alex discards both textbook and pencil on the carpet, crossing his bedroom floor to sit beside Reggie and pull him close. Reggie’s arms go around Alex’s middle, and the angle is a little awkward but Reggie buries his face in Alex’s shoulder and sobs, heavy and deep.

Reggie’s always thought his friends were a perfect balance. He shared Luke’s music taste and Bobby’s sense of humour. And he shared this with Alex, because he was a great listener and he gave the _best hugs_. Seriously, it was like having eight blankets thrown on top of him.

And Alex tends to doubt himself, to not take himself seriously, to brush off compliments and praise. Which is ridiculous, because he’s insanely talented and an amazing friend, and nobody who gives hugs this warm and this comforting should ever doubt themselves about anything, so Reggie tries to push back against that voice in Alex’s head that suggests any other possibility at every chance he gets.

“Thank you.” He says, muffled into Alex’s shoulder, and Alex’s arms squeeze a little tighter around him in response.

**2.**

Luke is standing in the corridor outside the green room in the crowded backstage area of the venue, head leant back against the wall. Bobby and Reggie are having a heated discussion about Star Wars which is audible only as a series of indignant noises, and Alex has given Luke a few minutes alone before following him out.

“I’m not supposed to miss them. I’m the one that ran away.” Luke says, and it’s heartbreakingly vulnerable and his voice is so quiet, like he both wants Alex to hear him and doesn’t at the same time.

Alex leans his head back against the wall beside Luke.

“I get it.” Is all he says, because Luke’s seen it, first hand. Alex battling with the cognitive dissonance of _knowing_ that his parents were wrong, and still having to live in a house where their version of the truth mattered more than his. He knows how long Alex waited, wishing there was another way, any possible alternative, until he finally knew there wasn’t.

Alex holds out his arms, and Luke doesn’t think twice about launching himself at Alex’s chest. One side of his face is pressed to Alex’s shoulder and he sighs. It’s like a poison barb has been removed, something released, and it’s not a permanent fix but it feels a whole lot better now.

“You gonna be okay for tonight?” Alex asks. They’ve got about half an hour until they’re due onstage, and while he knows Luke would still try and perform if every bone in his body was broken, he thinks the question is worth asking anyway.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Luke says, muffled against the fabric of Alex’s shirt. He tries to step back, but Alex pulls him in again, tighter still, for just a few seconds, and a little more of the poison seems to leech out of Luke’s system.

**3.**

“I told you. I’d do anything for you.”

Alex knows it’ll only hurt worse. But he’s about to pass into oblivion, and he’s allowing himself one selfish act before he does.

It’s instinctive, the way his arms wrap around Willie, and he wants to stay here forever, in the last bit of freedom he’s ever going to have. He can feel Willie’s hand on his shoulderblade, and he keeps his eyes shut tight, like when he opens them everything might change, like they’ll be back at the start again on the same street where they met, and he’ll have a second chance to fix this.

But it doesn’t, and he knows it won’t, and he feels almost awkward as he steps back, so uncertain all over again. As he watches Willie skate away, he feels the urge to follow him, to chase him down, and he resists.

He means it, in a way, when he tells Luke and Reggie that’s he’s okay. Not okay in the typical sense, but as okay as it’s possible to be.

The phantom sensation of Alex’s arms around him haunts Willie for hours to come.

**4.**

The four of them stand there, swept up in a kind of emotional rollercoaster that only comes with almost second-dying, and then discovering that they were actually pretty alive, in a dead sort of way. It’s all too much to think about, and Alex is preoccupied with the idea that he can hug Julie now, and she jumps between each of them, giving the tightest and most excited hugs ever.

And when they all hug, which happens at least half a dozen times, Alex wishes he could just wrap all his friends up in his arms at once. And he pretty much does, because they can all tell just how much it means to him, and Reggie and Luke at least know just how tactile Alex really is. Julie figures out pretty quickly too, and throws her arms around Alex’s neck, standing on her very tiptoes, while Reggie and Luke attempt what sort of looks like a side-on tackle. And when they all collapse on the sofa, Julie’s half asleep between him and Luke, and Alex wraps his arm tightly around Julie’s shoulders, the other arm being clung to by a very sleepy Reggie.

**5.**

Julie discovers that they all give different kinds of hugs. Luke’s are gentle, like he still half-expects to go straight through her. Reggie’s are tight and frantic, celebratory hugs accompanied by high-fives and huge grins.

Alex’s are freaking magical, though. When she turns up to the studio after a horrible day at school, Alex is the only one around- he’d been out with Willie and was waiting for everyone else to get back.

“Woah, Julie, what’s up?” He senses the gloom radiating from her, in the set of her shoulders and the furrowed expression on her face, and he practically launches himself off the couch and opens his arms. She tucks her head against his chest and wraps his arms around Alex’s waist.

“Sucky day. Just the suckiest.” She says, groaning, and Alex laughs.

“Wanna talk about it?” He asks.

“Hmm. Not before I’ve eaten at least half a jar of Marshmallow Fluff.”

“That’s fair.” He says, pulling her closer. He always forgets how much shorter Julie is, especially because he spends all his time making fun of Luke and Reggie about the few inches he has on them- and has done since they were 15. With her face disappeared against his chest, she’s basically a small mass of curly hair and he smiles, wrapping his arms around her back.

“S’better.” She mumbles. Alex’s hugs were like some kind of superpower. They could probably cure all the world’s ills if he could just hug enough people- it’s _almost_ as effective as Marshmallow Fluff. She forgets what she was even sad about after she’s settled on the couch next to Alex watching cartoons on her laptop, one extremely sticky spoon next to an empty jar on the coffee table.

**+1**

Willie wraps his arms around Alex’s shoulders from behind. He’s taking full advantage of the little grass verge behind where Alex is standing, looking out at the scenery bustling with pedestrians and skateboarders overflowing from the skate park they’d just come from. He presses his nose against Alex’s cheek, and he doesn’t have to see Alex’s face to know that he’s blushing. He kisses Alex’s temple, pulling him back against his chest and letting his arms drape over Alex’s shoulders.

“You’re pretty.” He hums, and he can’t see Alex’s face but his hands come up to interlace his fingers with Willie’s.

“You’re prettier.”

“Nuh huh.”

Alex loosens his grip on Willie’s hands and turns around. Willie’s still leaning almost fully against Alex, his hands on Alex’s shoulders, and he doubts that there’s a single angle that Alex doesn’t look positively angelic at, but this one is particularly amazing and Willie makes a mental note to stand on random surfaces more often. Maybe he could start carrying a stool around with him.

He kisses the top of Alex’s head, carding a hand through his hair, and pulls Alex closer to him. Alex settles against his chest and Willie wraps his arms all the way around him, forming a closed circuit around his shoulderblades.

Alex’s eyes are shut tight, and all he can feel is Willie’s arms around him, warm and close and gentle. He can practically feel the tension he always holds in his shoulders melt away to nothing. He feels Willie press another kiss to the crown of his head and he sighs. This time they really can stay here as long as they want, the sun glittering above them, fitting against each other like puzzle pieces. Alex leans his head back, and now it’s his turn to go up on tiptoes to kiss Willie, who laughs against his lips before kissing him back, intense and warm, his arms still around Alex’s neck.

Alex tucks his head back against Willie’s chest and Willie sighs, pulling him close.

**Author's Note:**

> i have become a oneshot machine ajfdsg. the royal au is still coming along but these keep coming to me
> 
> as always my tumblr is @kirkisms if you wanna come yell at me, and comments are so, so appreciated <3


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